ET TU Bistro In Te Atatu Peninsula

Et Tu is latin for “And You’ and was made famous by William Shakespeare in the play about Brutus plunging his dagger into the side of Julius Caesar. Murray and Therese own and run the new ET TU bistro in Auckland’s Te Atatu Peninsula and I got to sit down with Murray and ask him a few question about their new endeavour.

I had looked up ‘Bistro’ as I wasn’t sure what bistro actually means, and found the meaning to be ‘small restaurant’. Murrays’ interpretation was slightly different. He understood it to be ‘casual dining’. Both meanings seem to fit Et Tu perfectly, although there are big plans underfoot for a large deck area and eventually a grassed area to catch the afternoon sun at the back.

Just A Little Background About Murray and Therese

Murray grew up in Auckland but moved to Australia for about 12 years before coming home again and settling in Te Atatu Peninsula. After leaving school Murray did a pastry chef apprenticeship and then some drifting in and out of the restaurant industry before focusing on being a chef. It struck me just how demanding running a restaurant or bistro is as I waited to interview Murray. People flowed through the door making deliveries of fresh produce, chefs were busy in the kitchen doing prep, and this was hours before they even open for the evening.

Fuze cafe in Te Atatu was Murray and Therese’s first sole venture and most of us know how great Fuze turned out to be. Fuze is still my favourite local place for coffee and breakfast. Murray tells me the expectations for dining in a bistro are somewhat higher than food served at a cafe but it seems he is up to the challenge. Time off from work doesn’t exist yet Murray tells me he only manages to get out fishing with friends on the odd occasion.

The Menu

The Et Tu bistro menu is a work in progress and Murray has directions that he would like to go, but it takes time. (And I thought you just chose some nice dishes and that was that. Shows you how little I know.) New dishes are always going to be introduced and if they are well received they may stay. There will be seasonal changes to the menu too, depending on what fresh produce is available, (something I always like to hear).

A Passionate Work In Progress

Murray and Therese and their bistro are here to stay and will develop over time I think to become very familiar to us all. They are clearly passionate about what they are doing and that normally translates into something fantastic in my opinion. I look forward to seeing ET TU Bistro emerge to become one of the best places to dine out casually and locally on the peninsula. I look forward to the more distant future when the deck and grass areas are completed so you can sit under the setting sun with ice cold Peroni in hand.